Improvement in machines for manufacturing wood-screws



1". J. SLOAN. MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING WOOD-SCREWS.

Patented Jan. 18, 1876.

U ITED STATES PATENT THOMAS J. SLOAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR MANUFACTURING WOOD-SCREWS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1 72,349, dated January 18, 1876; application filed May 25, 1875.

Case A.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. SLOAN, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Machinery for the Manufacture of Wood-Screws, of which the following is a specification This invent-ion is designed for use in the manufacture of that variety of woodscrews in which the head is formed with a central cavity or recess traversed by the usual groove or nick, whereby provision is made for the use of a peculiarly-constructed driver in turning the screw, with the result that the driver is pre vented from slipping out of the groove, and the screw is driven without injury thereto, and

without special care or annoyance to the operator.

The object of this mypresent invention is to provide for the cheap and convenientformation in the head of the screw of the recess or cavity hereinbefore indicated; and to this end it consists in the combination of a die in which to upset the end of the screw-blank or form the head of a wood-screw, with a punch or stem constructed with a conical teat for producing; a conical hole in the center of the screw-head.

The invention further consists in a novel combination of parts, whereby the apparatus is peculiarly fitted for successful use in the manufacture of screws made from brittle or refractory metal; also in a novel combination of parts, whereby the most advantageous operation of the principal feature of the invention is secured.

Figure 1 is a plan and partial horizontal section of a machine made according to my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are elevations of op posite sides of the machine. Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical transverse sections taken on the line was of the figures hereinbefore enumerated, but viewed from stand-point respectively in front and rear of the machine. Fig. 6 is a central longitudinalsection of the screw, for the production .;f*- w nich my present invention is intended. Fig.7 is a sectional view on an e11- larged scale of certain portions of my machine aforesaid.

A is a longitudinally-sliding shaft, having one of its bearings at a in the supportingframe B, and at its opposite or rear end furnished with a crosshead, b, running on fixed guides 0. At the rear end of the frame B is a driving-shaft, 0, provided with two curved studs, arms, or cams, c f, arranged to act in succession upon the cross-head b to move the shaft A forward, the reverse or rearward movement of said shaft being given thereto:

by a special spring, 01, coiled around the same and bearing at one end on the cross-head b, and at the other against the fixed bearing a. ()n the front end of the shaftA is a swinging head, 1),, attached to the shaft A by a vertical pivot, to, and connected by a rod, b, with the forward arm of a lever, E, the rear arm of which bears against the face of a cam, F, on the driving-shaft O. A spring, g, is arranged to bear against that side of the head D oppo site that at which the lever E is placed, the

spring thus tending to press the said lever in due contact with the aforesaid cam, and also to cause the head to follow the movement of the lever incident to the varying motion of the cam thereon.

Projecting from the front end of the head D, both in the same plane, at a suitable distance apart, but each in a position radial to the pivot'a, are the heading-die m and. the stem at, the latter having at its front extremity the indenting-punch r, the form of which is identical with that of the recess or cavity die G is shaped internally for receiving and holding the pieces of wire from which the headed blanks are made, and for the requisite shaping of the inner side or surface of the head, in the manner usual in heading machinery, and the wire is fed to the said die Gr, and the blanks rrn.

wire of suitable kind and length beingclampedin the die G, (by the closing of the latter through the action of the lever 1 and the cam J with its extremity projecting into the head'- ing-cavity a of the said die, the cam F actuates the lever E to swing the head D into such position that the die, which has the usual flat-. ended form, exactly in line with the piece of wire inclosed and griped by the die G, whereupon the cam e of the driving-shaft G forces forward the sliding shaft A, and, bringing the die m forcibly against the extremity of the wire, upsets the same into the suitably-sh aped cavity a of the die G, and thereby shapes the head upon the wire and forms the blank.

It should be set forth in this connection that the cavity a is elongated beyond what is required merely for the formation of the head, as aforesaid, its elongated part having a shape and diameter corresponding to that of the die m in such wise that the latter, entering such cavity before coming in contact with the metal to be upset, may be guided in its thrust upon the metal and kept from lateral displacementduring the formation of the head. When the head has been formed upon the blank the continued rotation of the driving-shaft G releases the sliding shaft from the action of the cam e, whereupon the spring cl forces the die at back from contact with the blank, and the cam F actuates the lever E to swing the head into such position that the punch nis brought exactly coincident or in line with the blank held in the die G, whereupon the cam f forces forward again the sliding shaft A, and drives the teat 7' into the center of the head of the blank, the said teat indenting, recessing, or forming a cavity in the center of the. head, this same operation bringing the flat end surface of the punch a around the teat 1" forcibly against the outer surface of the head, thereby completing the flattening thereof and giving the requisite contour to the head simultaneously with the formation of the recess therein.

the cam releases the sliding shaft, the reversed. movement of the latter withdraws the punch, and the cam J and lever I, acting through the rod 0, open the die G to permit the expulsion This done,

of the blank and the introduction of another piece of wire for conversion into a headed and recessed blank by a repetition of the operation just described. The requisite recess or cavity having been formed in the blanks, the latter may in due order be subjected in the usual manner to theoperation's of shaving, nicking, and threading, essential. in the formation of the finished screw.

It will be understood that the outermost portion of the cavity a of the die G serves as a guide and support for the punch a, in the same manner as for the die m. It will also be understood that the same result-that of forming the recess, cavity, or indentation in the head of the blank-will be secured by providing the teats 1' upon the end of the die m,

thereby dispensing with the movable head D and. punch a, and accessory mechanism; and this simple construction and moclus operandi may be adopted when the metal to be operated upon is very soft and tough, but the construction and method of operation shown in the drawings and hereinbefore fully described are to be employed when the metal is of the inferior and refractory character commonly used in the fabrication of wood-screws, and which would be likely to split if the teat 1 should be made to act thereon previous to the upsetting or spreading of the metal in or by the formation of the head. 7

What I claim as my invention is 1. The combination of the die G, in which to upset the end of the blank or form the head of an ordinary screw, and the punch a, with a central conical teat, r, for producing a conical hole in the center of the screw-head, as described and shown.

2. The movable head constructed with the die m and punch, in combination with the die G, for holding the blank, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The sliding shaft A, carrying the die m, punch n, and teat r, and driving-shaft 0, carrying the cams e f, in combination with the dieG, for holding the blanks, the whole being constructed and arranged for c ration substantially as and for the purpos set forth.

THOS. J. SLOAN. Attest:

JAMES A. WHITNEY, W. M. EDWARDS. 

